


Connecting The World

by The_Alice_Killer



Series: Connecting The World Project [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Idols, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Angst, Eventual Romance, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Girl Band, Idols, Injury, Light Angst, M/M, Multi, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romance, Teen Romance, Trans Character, Trans Female Character, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:21:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 15,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27459403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Alice_Killer/pseuds/The_Alice_Killer
Summary: Inishi Tech is a well-known school in Japan. Students from all around the world attend it. It's programs are very high-end and a lot of students go on to be successful celebrities and the likes.Aya Oshiro has a new idea. She wants to spread happiness around the world. But, how? Create an idol group, of course! But, the project will need more than just one group to succeed. Who else will join them?(This is based off of both Love Live! and BanG Dream with only OCs.)
Relationships: Jack Reones/Jake Taether, Kira Sato/Ryder Rush
Series: Connecting The World Project [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2007130
Kudos: 5





	1. The First Meeting

"Alright kids. We have half-an-hour for arts and crafts. Pair up and make something."

"Hey, Aya! Do you wanna do a group of three?" A young Kira bounced over to her friend.

"Sure. But, who?" Aya replied.

"That girl we just met. Ryder!" Kira said.

"Oh. Yeah. Let's ask her." Aya nodded.

...

"Stay in groups of three."

"Let's go together!" Aya declared as she latched onto Kira's arm.

"We need another one, though. It can't just be us two." Kira pointed out, "And... you know most kids don't like me..."

"I'm sure we can find someone." Aya stated.

Aya drug Kira around the group as she searched for someone who might join them. Most kids had already gotten into their groups by now. There was one girl left who hadn't. She had just transferred to the school.

"Hello! Do you have a group yet?" Aya walked up to her.

"No." The girl replied.

"You can join ours then! So, what's your name? I'm Aya and this is Kira." Aya started chatting with the girl as if they had known each other forever. She was very casual about it.

"Ryder." The girl replied.

"Nice to meet you!"

...

At some point during their tour of the aquarium they were visiting, Ryder found out about Kira being different. She showed no reaction to it. That was why Kira was excited to hang out with her. She hadn't found many friends who liked her.

"Hey, Ry! You wanna sit together?" Aya asked as they walked up to Ryder.

"Ry? Giving me a nickname already?" Ryder rolled her eyes at Aya.

"So what if I am?" Aya teased, "Let's find a table."

The three of them sat down together. The teacher passed out the materials and they all got to work.

"So, whatcha think of the aquarium?" Aya started the conversation.

"It was neat." Ryder said.

"It was so big. My legs hurt from all the walking we did." Kira whined.

"Yeah. It was a pretty long tour."

"So, um... you're our friend now, right?" Aya asked Ryder.

"I suppose. I guess I can tolerate you guys." Ryder said.

Aya pretended to pout, "Meanie!"

"You teased me a lot so I'm going to do the same to you." Ryder retorted.

The two started to playfully bicker back and forth. Kira giggled as she watched. It was strange to have a new friend in her life, but she definitely wasn't complaining. It was fun to have Ryder around. She seemed like a nice girl.

Little did she know just what their relationship would turn into as time went on.


	2. Connecting The World

It was after school on a Friday. Aya was bored out of her mind. She turned on the TV to see if anything good was on. She came to a channel with someone talking.

"It is very sad that so many people are unhappy in the world. What do you think you can do about it?"

"I'll use my fame to spread awareness and help those people out."

Something clicked in Aya's mind. Could she possibly do that as well? Could she make people smile? That was something she really wanted to do. She always loved when she could make people happy.

"What would I call it?" Aya mumbled, "And what would I even do?"

Aya grabbed a piece of paper and started jotting down ideas. She was determined. She wasn't going to give up on this idea so easily. This idea actually meant a lot to her. It felt like something that was truly in her grasp for once.

"Hmm… I mean… it makes sense…" Aya mumbled to herself.

A single phrase stood out on the paper: Connecting The World.

Aya knew that was what she would call it. After all, she wanted to bring happiness to everyone. Not just people in Japan. Maybe she could do this?

The next question was, how was she going to do it? Should she do it online in a blog form? Should she get up and talk? What to do?

"This seems hard to do by myself… but would anyone else even want to join me?" Aya sighed.

Aya had many moments like this. She'd come up with an idea, but no one would want to help her. They always said she was too excited and her dreams were unrealistic.

Aya sighed again as she started flipping through the TV channels. She stopped on a channel showing a concert. On stage were three girls. They were singing and dancing to a song. Aya watched in awe as the audience went wild as they finished.

“That’s it! If I can find people to sing we can do that! And then… and then we could tour and bring our music all over the world!” Aya said out loud.

She was lucky she was the only one home. Aya jumped up from the couch and ran to her room. She stared at her phone. Would anyone be willing to join that she knew? Would she have to advertise? Aya decided she’d wait and talk to Kira tomorrow about it. She’d help her find out what to do.

“Connecting the World, here I come!” Aya smiled.

She had finally found her purpose in life. She always struggled to figure out what she wanted to do as she grew up. Now she knew. She wanted to bring happiness and joy to people everywhere. But, that wasn’t all. Aya knew she’d also want to help in relief effort whenever disaster struck. She realized holding concerts could help the, gain money to donate.

This could work. Now, all she needed was to find at least another person to join her in her task. Who would it be? Aya wanted Kira to join, but she knew the girl might be hesitant to do so. Aya felt this could be a chance for Kira to show the world who she was and that there was nothing weird about her. She had made up her mind. Kira was going to join this group no matter how much begging it took. It was a perfect opportunity for her to finally be herself.

“I’m gonna show the world that anyone can make a difference. So, I’ll let anyone in my group.” Aya whispered, “I won’t let anyone bring me down. I’ll show them even kids can do great things.”


	3. Let's Be Idols!

The next day at school, Aya immediately sought out Kira. Unfortunately, she had to wait till class started. Once they were given independent work to do, she walked over to Kira. Kira was more than happy to work with her.

“So, Kai, I had an idea yesterday. About what I wanna do with my life.” Aya suddenly stated. She wasn’t sure how else to bring it up.

“Okay? And this isn’t illegal, right?” Kira asked, knowing all the other crazy ideas Aya came up with.

“It’s not. I promise.” Aya stated firmly, “I wanna be an idol.”

“What’s that?” Kira asked.

“It’s someone who sings and dances on stage. It looks so cool. And, I have a good idea for it. It’s called Connecting the World. We can use our voices to help people be happy. And if we can make money, we could donate some to help people in need.” Aya said in a very excited tone.

“Okay. Slow down. You want to be an idol so you can make people happy?” Kira had to backtrack.

“Yep. And I want you to join me.” Aya stated with a smile.

Kira went pale. The thought of getting on a stage scared her. What would people think of that? Would they like her? Or… would they hate her for being who she is?

“Come on, Kai. I’m sure it’ll be fine. Unless you tell, no one will know.” Aya pleaded, “Please? This can be your chance to put yourself out there.”

“I… I don’t know…” Kira mumbled, “Do I have the right body for it?”

“Body type doesn’t matter.” Aya stated.

“Don’t idols wear really revealing things?” Kira asked.

“We can wear whatever we want. We can be anything we want.” Aya said, “Come on. Please?”

“But… I can’t dance… and… my voice…”

“Kai, please? How about this. We give it a practice run. Let’s try it out for a week and if you don’t like it, you can leave.” Aya offered. She wasn’t ready to let Kira get out of it. Aya believed this was what she needed. A push to get out there.

“F-fine. One week.” Kira nervously agreed.

“Yay! I promise you won’t regret it.” Aya smiled.

“U-um… is it just going to be us?”

“Hmm… for now. Unless… you think Ry might join?” Aya questioned.

“I don’t think she does stuff like that.” Kira said, “If anything, she’d want to join a band.”

“Really? Can she play anything?” Aya was excited by that news.

“I think so… but I can’t remember if she told me the instrument.” Kira shrugged.

“We should ask her! Maybe she’ll join. And then we have a way to make music.” Aya stated.

“I guess it doesn’t hurt to try.” Kira agreed.

“Great. You should ask her. You two are closer. If anything, she’d listen to you.” Aya said.

Kira sighed. She wasn’t sure how she would even approach the topic. She wasn’t like Aya. She couldn’t just randomly bring it up. It felt too awkward for her to do. But, what Aya said was true. Her and Ryder were quite close. It seemed like Ryder had given herself the job of protecting her.

“I can try…” Kira eventually said.

“I know you can do it.” Aya said encouragingly.

“It’s just hard… cause she’s a year older. We don’t get to hang out much.” Kira sighed, “I don’t know when I’d be able to talk to her.”

“Then just text her.” Aya replied, “I’m sure that’ll be just as effective.”

Kira couldn’t help but chuckle. Aya always was so positive. She never looked down on anything. She just looked toward the future. Kira wished she had that attitude. She envied Aya a lot on that regard.

“I guess I can do that.” Kira said.

“Awesome. Now… um, can you show me how to do this?” Aya asked sheepishly.

“You think I know science any better than you do?” Kira shot back teasingly.

“We’re both hopeless at this, huh?” Aya laughed.

“That we are.” Kira agreed.


	4. Join Our Group, Please?

A few days had passed since Aya and Kira had started their group. It was still unofficial as Kira wasn't sure about staying yet. They hadn't held any practice at the moment. Aya was waiting until Kira tried to recruit Ryder.

Today was the day she was going to do it. Kira had planned to go home with Ryder to hang out. So, after school had ended, that's what they did.

"Aren't your parents home?" Kira asked as she looked around.

"No." Ryder quickly replied.

"Can I see your room?" Kira asked. She wanted to ask more about Ryder's parents, but decided it was best not to.

"Sure. Follow me." Ryder agreed and let Kira down a hallway.

They entered a room. There were a lot of band posters all over the walls. A guitar sat in the corner. There was also a bookcase with a lot of books. Kira looked closer at them. It was a mix of regular books to manga to music sheets.

"You play guitar?" Kira asked.

Ryder nodded, "Yeah. I actually can play a lot of instruments, but I like guitar the most."

"That's so cool. I'm jealous." Kira pouted.

Ryder chuckled, "I could teach you if you wanted to learn."

"I want to learn the bass. It's always interested me." Kira admitted, "I just was too embarrassed to ask my mom."

"I could teach you." Ryder replied.

Kira smiled, "Really? Thank you!"

Ryder smiled as she grabbed her guitar, "Wanna hear a song? I've been writing one for a while now."

Kira nodded eagerly. She sat down on the bed. Ryder soon joined her. She casually tested the guitar and tuned it. Once she was done, she began.

"That was awesome!" Kira said once Ryder had finished, "You're really good."

Ryder blushed, "I-I'm not that good."

"I think you are." Kira stated.

She remembered why she had come here. Kira totally forgot about that. She had gotten sidetracked.

"Hey, Ry? Um… Aya's started a new thing again. She wants to create an idol group now." Kira said.

"Does she now? And how is that going?" Ryder rolled her eyes as she put the guitar away.

"She asked me to join. I'm not too sure about it, but I agreed to give it a try." Kira mumbled, "She wants you to join too."

"As expected. She always tries to drag me into her crazy ideas."

"Will you give it a try?" Kira questioned.

"I suppose. Otherwise I know she'll be breathing down my back till I do." Ryder said.

"Yeah. She's pretty persistent." Kira agreed.

"How long have you known her for?" Ryder asked.

"Since we were kids. She kinda sought me out in class and we just connected." Kira said.

"I don't know how you've survived her shenanigans." Ryder sighed.

Kira giggled, "After a while you just get used to it."

"Has she always been like this?" Ryder asked.

"Pretty much. She's always been out there. She's not afraid to let people know how she feels." Kira said.

"Well, this idol group should be interesting if she's in charge of it." Ryder commented.

"Yeah. I just hope she doesn't try anything too outrageous."


	5. Aquarium Idols

The next day was a weekend. Perfect for them to start this idol group. Kira had messages Aya about the results. Aya was super thrilled to learn that Ryder was going to join them. She was also excited because Ryder could play instruments. That would definitely come in handy.

The three of them met up at Aya’s house. Aya welcomed them inside with a big smile on her face. She led them to the living room. There were a lot of papers laying around. When they read them, they realized it was ideas for the group.

“So, I thought we could call our group Aquarium Idols. Since we met at an Aquarium.” Aya said.

“Sounds fine.” Kira said.

“I guess that’s fine.” Ryder shrugged.

“Awesome. So, we need to figure out what we should start doing. Should we write a song? Should we practice first? Should we make a dance? Outfits?”

“Calm down.” Kira cut her off, “We just started and this isn’t official.”

“Fine…” Aya pouted.

“Where would we practice?” Ryder asked.

“Here! Our basement is huge! We have enough space for now.” Aya said, “But, we are allowed to use the old garden shed at the school. I already got permission.”

“Alright. Do you have any ideas for a song?” Kira asked.

“No…” Aya frowned, “I couldn’t think of anything…”

“Ry? What about the song you were writing?” Kira asked, “Do you think that could have a dance added to it?”

“I suppose if I tweak it a little.” Ryder replied.

“Wait. You write songs!?” Aya practically smothered Ryder in a hug.

Ryder hesitantly nodded, “Yeah. I’ve been doing it for as long as I’ve known how to play.”

“So… could we possibly use some songs?” Aya asked pleadingly.

“I guess.” Ryder pulled out her phone, “I can send you a list of all the songs.”

“Yay!”

They sat down on the couch. Aya started playing the songs Ryder sent. She would comment things about each one. Ryder was blushing a lot. Aya was very supportive of each song.

“Huh? This has… lyrics?”

“U-uh…” Ryder gulped, “Me and uh… a friend wrote that together…”

“Cool!” Aya smiled, “You guys are really talented.”

“Yeah…” Ryder seemed uncomfortable.

“Anyway. Which song do you wanna try and make lyrics and a dance to?” Kira asked.

“I think this one!”

“Oh. I like the sound of it.”

“So, is this song okay to use?” Aya asked.

Ryder nodded, “Yeah. It’s fine.”

“Let’s start making lyrics.”

…

Two days of work got them lyrics and a dance. They met up at the shed and tried practicing. It was a lot of work. Aya seemed happy and determined. Kira was very hesitant and kept holding back. Ryder just followed along. She wasn’t too into it.

“I think it’s coming along well! So… will you two continue?” Aya asked.

“I suppose.” Ryder said.

“U-um… if you’re so sure…” Kira mumbled.

“I promise you’ll be fine!” Aya smiled at her.

“What’s next on the list after this stuff?” Ryder asked.

“Um… a concert!”

“O-oh…”

“We have some time before we need to focus on that.” Aya reassured Kira.

“Can anyone make outfits?”

“No…”

“Well, I guess shopping is in order.” Ryder said.

“Okay!”

…

It was a lot of work. They pulled it off. It wasn’t long before they had finally decided to try and get a small show. They ended up having it be at school. It was a lot of work to make it work. But, they hoped it would go well.


	6. First Live

The day had come sooner than they thought. It was time for their first performance. It was at their school, but that wasn’t too helpful. Their school had a reputation and as such, their auditorium was huge. Well, their high school one was. That was where the three members of the newly formed Aquarium Idols found themselves.

“I’m so excited! I can’t wait until we get to perform!” Aya was bouncing around the backstage area.

“I-I’m nervous… there’s a lot of people out there…” Kira mumbled.

Ryder was just silently watching. She kept peaking out at the audience. Every time she did, there were more people. She hadn’t expected there to be so many. But, then again, this school had a reputation. They had advertised the show for the girls. They couldn’t disappoint them now.

“Ry? You okay?” Kira asked.

“I’m fine.” Ryder replied, “I just don’t know what to do while we wait.”

“Are there a lot of people still coming in?” Kira asked.

Ryder nodded, “Yeah. There are a lot.”

“Ooh! Let me see!” Aya came over to them and looked out at the crowd.

“I’m scared…”

“Kai, come on! We’ve practiced this song a lot! We’ll be fine.” Aya stated, “Just don’t focus on the crowd. It’ll be okay.”

“I-I’ll try.” Kira promised.

“Oh, I saw my parents out there!” Aya stated, “I’m happy they came to see me.”

Kira looked out. She searched the crowd to see if her parents were in sight. She knew they were coming, but she wasn’t sure when or where they’d be sitting at.

“I see mine too.” Kira said as she backed away from the curtain.

“What about you, Ry? Are your parents gonna be here?” Aya asked.

“No. They aren’t coming.” Ryder replied, her voice making it clear she didn’t want to talk about it any further.

“Aw… they’re missing out…” Aya pouted.

“Girls, get in position!”

“It’s time!” Aya smiled.

The three of them lined up. Moments later, the curtains came up. Silence overtook the auditorium. Aya smiled and stepped forward.

“Hello! We’re Aquarium Idols and we’ll be performing a song for you. It’s called Beyond Time! We hope you enjoy it!” Aya announced.

…

After the song, they bowed and then the curtain fell down. They were all panting and sweating. It was definitely a lot harder to perform a song on stage than during practice. The stage lights made it even hotter than normal.

“We did it!” Aya jumped up and down.

“Yeah, we did.” Kira smiled, “It was really fun.”

“It wasn’t bad.” Ryder nodded.

“Let’s make sure our next song is even better!”

The three of them broke out into laughter. Their performance had gone extremely well. It gave them the confidence boost they needed to continue.


	7. Setback

It had been a week or so since the live. The three girls were hard at work practicing. They didn’t have anything scheduled. They just wanted to be ready for whenever they did get something. They were told that they would be allowed to perform again at the school if the need arises. That was a good thing for them all. They had something to look forward to.

A few days later, Ryder had texted and said she wouldn’t be able to come to practice for a week. She had gotten sick. For some reason, her body was struggling to maintain fluids. So, she was stuck in the hospital for the time being.

Aya and Kira paid her a visit each day. They talked for a while, asking how much longer it would be until Ryder was at least home. Ryder was improving each day. It seemed like it was just a random occurrence and wouldn’t be permanent. She was set to be released in another day or two.

Ryder was told to take it easy for a while. She was weak from being confined to a bed for a while. Ryder didn’t want to take it too easy. She had fallen behind the two girls and wanted to catch up. She felt bad about making them have to slow down and wait for her. So, she made sure to work as hard as she could while trying to make sure she didn’t push herself too hard.

It was just another day to practice. The three of them were practicing a new song they had come up with. The dance wasn’t very difficult, but it was taking a while to get the timing right on it. Everything was going like normal. They did their stretches and then did some solo practice to warm up.

However, things didn’t stay normal for very long. A few minutes into their warm up, something happened. First, they heard something crack. Then, Ryder cried out in pain as she crumpled to the ground.

“Ry!?”

Immediately the two other girls were beside her. Ryder was crying as she held her right leg. It hurt so bad. Judging from the noise, Ryder could only assume she might’ve broken something.

Aya went to get help. Kira stayed beside her, trying to do something to take her mind off the pain.

“It’s gonna be okay, Ry. I promise…” Kira whispered.

“It hurts…”

“I know. Just stay still, okay? You don’t want to make the pain worse, right?” Kira worriedly glanced at the leg.

It was very clearly wrong. There was something almost poking out, but not quite. Kira could only guess it might be bone. This did not look good at all.

“I’m sorry…”

“This isn’t your fault. Don’t blame yourself.” Kira stated. She knew Ryder was pushing herself more than she should’ve been, but for this to happen? It didn’t make sense. This had to have been an underlying condition that was just made worse somehow.

A few minutes later, Aya came back with a teacher. They were told an ambulance was coming for her.

…

Ryder was lucky. That’s what the doctor said. She was extremely lucky. Her bone had almost completely shattered. They almost would’ve had to amputate her leg if it was any worse. Ryder was glad that hadn’t happened.

But, now she was stuck in the hospital for who knew how long. She had been informed that her leg must’ve been cracked before at some point and the strain just became too much. Ryder didn’t know when that could’ve happened.

Aya and Kira came to visit her the moment they could. Ryder couldn’t bring herself to look at them. She felt awful. She was dragging them down because of her stupid mistakes.

“Hey, Ry. So, what’s the verdict?” Aya asked softly as she took a seat on the couch in the room.

“Said it’ll be quite some time before I can leave. Need to have surgery to strengthen my bone to make sure it doesn’t break again.” Ryder mumbled.

“Will you ever be able to dance again?” Kira asked.

“Dunno. Depends on how well the surgery goes. Might not be able to even run if it isn’t successful.” Ryder sighed.

“I hope you get better.” Aya said, “It sucks seeing you like this.”

“What are you two going to do?” Ryder asked, “Might as well just remove me from the group.”

“No.” Aya stated, “If there’s a chance you can come back, then we’ll hope for that. We’ll just take a break until you get better.”

“And what if I don’t get better?” Ryder challenged.

“Then we’ll worry about that when it comes.” Kira butted in, “I know you tend to think negatively, but try and be positive.”

“You don’t understand.”

“What don’t we understand?” Kira questioned.

“Thinking positively never gets me anywhere. Everything that can go wrong, does. Just give it up.” Ryder grumbled.

“No. We aren’t giving up!” Aya declared, “Maybe you have, but we won’t. Not until it’s confirmed that you can or can’t do physical activity.”

“Fine…” Ryder sighed, “We’ll find out by the end of the month.”

“Then we’ll wait till then."


	8. High School Time

Two years had gone by in the blink of an eye. They were all in high school now. It still felt so surreal to them all.

Ryder had recovered well from her injury. She still had some moments where she struggled, but she was definitely better. She was able to do basic exercises. That meant she could still be an idol. Her dances just had to be easier.

There was one other thing that happened due to her injury. Kira and Aya saw it as a good thing while Ryder had no opinion on it. Ryder had missed so much school to recover from her injury that she was forced to repeat the year. That meant the three of them were in the same grade.

High school was where they decided to restart Aquarium idols. Things had finally settled down. They had the ability to start over. As they had never really done anything after their debut, it wasn't hard to just restart again.

So, they were back with the three of them. The only thing that had changed was them growing closer. The group remained the same. Though, Aya wasn't too sure she wanted that.

"You know, most idol groups nowadays have a lot of members. At least nine is what I've seen. Though, some are small like ours. I was considering if we should discuss a recruitment session. To maybe find more members?" Aya was explaining one day during lunch.

"You want to have a bigger group?" Kira asked.

Aya shrugged, "I dunno. I just thought it might be fun to have more members. But, I know it might be hard since we know each other well and we wouldn't know them."

"I think first you should see if anyone would even be interested before jumping into it." Ryder said, "If we were to announce an open recruitment and then not get anyone, that wouldn't go over well."

"Right." Aya nodded, "So… what would we need to do?"

"Well, I think we need to actually do some stuff ourselves. Since we've already announced redebuting, we can't just suddenly call it off to recruit more members. We need to put some stuff out there with us three again." Kira offered.

Ryder nodded, "I agree. We should show people what our group is about before trying to ask anyone to join."

"Okay! How about this then? We use this year to give ourselves exposure. Next school year, we recruit." Aya suggested.

After a few moments, Kira and Ryder nodded. That sounded like a good plan. They'd be able to work with that.

"Then that's that!" Aya smiled.

…

They put a lot of effort into their group. They weren't able to rise in popularity fast, but they were slowly getting higher in the rankings. People were expressing a lot more interest in them now.

Aya decided to pose the question to the fans one day. She asked them how they'd feel if Aquarium Idols added more members to the group. Kira had mentioned that the fans might not like having more members, so they should make sure they were okay with it first.

After a few days, they checked the results to see what people thought.

"That sounds cool. I'd be interested in seeing that. Man, now I wish I went to your school. I'd like to see new faces in your group." Aya was reading out the comments to Ryder and Kira.

"Seems most people are in favor of it." Ryder commented.

"Yeah. So, should we aim to hold a recruitment next year?" Kira asked.

"Hold on. One more comment I want you to hear." Aya said, "I'd love to join your group if that happened."

"Eh? Someone in this school is interested?" Ryder and Kira exchanged glances.

Aya nodded, "I looked up their profile. They're in their last year of middle school right now."

"What's the name?" Kira asked.

"Rae Moto." Aya replied.

"Should we say anything to her or wait?" Ryder asked.

"I think we should tell her that if she's interested we are considering opening up auditions next school year." Aya replied.

"I see. Let her know it's possible so she doesn't give it up." Kira said.

"Well, I don't think it would hurt to do that." Ryder agreed.

"Great! Let me send her a message then!" Aya smiled.

They had a potential new member. That was good. If they were to do this recruitment, they'd need people interested.

"About recruitment. Who are we opening it too? Would it just be high school?" Ryder asked.

"I think it's for the best." Kira replied, "It'd be hard to deal with middle school kids. But, if any are interested, maybe we could work something out."

"Like a trial run! They practice with us for a year and if they still want to, they can join our group." Aya said.

"Ay… that's not going to work…" Ryder sighed.

"Huh? Oh… right…" Aya chuckled nervously.

"Well, I mean… thinking about it, as long as they aren't involved with anything else, they could manage. They'd just be half-an-hour late to practice each day." Kira said after some thought.

"We can discuss this later. We have almost an entire school year still."


	9. A New Member

School was almost over. Only a few more weeks left. Everyone was more than ready for the summer to begin. This was also an important time to our idols.

“I asked her if she'd like to meet with us at a cafe. Hopefully she’ll show up.”

“She’s still interested?”

“Yep. She’s really excited to start practice over the summer!”

The three girls had all agreed to start their recruitment in the summer instead of the next school year. It was just easier. So, Aya had asked Rae if she’d like to meet up with them and discuss joining their group.

Aya didn’t want to wait and rushed to the middle school. Ryder and Kira just shook their heads at her and followed. Aya was excited. Perhaps too excited. As they made their way through the school, they attracted a lot of attention.

Aya soon spotted Rae. She ran even faster to go see her. Kira and Ryder exchanged glances, knowing this was going to be an interesting exchange.

“Rae-chan! Hi!”

Rae jumped as she whipped around to see Aya running full speed at her. Aya skidded to a stop right in front of her. Rae has thought she’d never stop in time. Kira and Ryder knew she would, though. Aya was always doing that to people. It was entertaining to watch them freak out.

“H-hi.” Rae took a few deep breaths to try and calm her heart from pounding.

“How ya doing?”

“U-um… I’m okay…”

Ryder and Kira walked over to join them finally. Rae looked over at them. She looked a little nervous.

“Hey. Sorry about Aya. She doesn’t have an off button for her hyper-ness.” Kira apologized.

“It’s okay…” Rae mumbled.

“Kai! That’s mean!” Aya pouted and playfully punched Kira in the shoulder.

“You seriously do not have an off button, though. I don’t think there’s been a day where you haven’t been hyper. Even when you’re sick you’ll still be bouncing off the walls at any given chance.” Ryder commented.

“Hmmpf.” Aya crossed her arms.

“Anyway, shall we get going?” Ryder ignored her.

“Let’s go.”

The four of them walked out together. Aya was happily trying to chat with Rae. Rae was taken back by how friendly Aya was being.

“Get used to it. She acts like everyone is her best friend even if they’ve hardly met her.” Kira whispered into Rae’s ear.

“I see…” Rae nervously smiled.

They soon arrived at the cafe. They took a table and started chatting. Aya offered to go buy the drinks. While she was gone, they just sat in silence. They didn’t really know how to start off this conversation after what Aya had been doing.

“So… you guys seem really close…” Rae mumbled.

“Yeah. I’ve known Aya since kindergarten. Ryder met her our first year of middle school.” Kira nodded.

“She’s not what I was expecting.” Rae said.

“I don’t think anyone could expect her.” Ryder commented.

Aya came back. She set the drinks down and then plopped into a seat.

“So, you still interested in joining?” Aya asked, cutting right to the chase.

Rae nodded, “I’d like to try.”

“Well, you can start joining our practices once school is out. We’ll see how you do and decide if it’s something you can keep up with.” Aya said.

“Alright.” Rae agreed.

…

It was two days after school had ended. They had met up at their normal practice area. The school was nice enough to continue to let them use it despite being closed.

They did their normal practice. Rae mainly stood by and watched them. She was observing for now. She wanted to see what she would be asked to do before actually starting to do it.

About ten minutes into the practice, Rae was invited to try and copy the dance. Rae was hesitant, but gave it a try. She was very shaky and not very steady on her feet at all. She was nervous about trying out now. While they were nice, Rae felt like she didn’t belong. After all, those three were close friends. She wasn’t.

“Well, you did pretty well for your first time.” Aya said as the dance came to an end, “You could definitely do this if you tried.”

Rae just nodded. She still wasn’t entirely sure this was for her. Would it be better to try and form a group of her own? Form a group with people she knew? But, the school probably wouldn’t like that. They wouldn’t support two idol groups right now. Not unless the first group was extremely popular. That was not the case.

“Everything alright?” Ryder asked as she tossed a water bottle over to Rae.

“Yeah. Just, thinking.” Rae replied.

“You don’t feel like you belong, right?” Ryder asked as she motioned for Rae to sit.

“How could you tell?” Rae asked as she sat down on the floor beside Ryder.

“I’m just good at reading people.” Ryder shrugged.

Aya and Kira were talking on the other side of the room. They didn’t seem to pay any attention to the other two girls.

“I just don’t know how well I’ll do… since you guys know each other, I feel like I’m kinda just butting in.” Rae mumbled.

“Why not see if you could get a friend to join? Would that help?” Ryder suggested.

“Maybe…” Rae thought about who she could ask.

“Well, you have time. You don’t have to agree to join right away. Think it over.” Ryder stood up.

“I will. Thanks.”


	10. In Need of a Companion

Rae left the practice session with millions of thoughts swirling in her mind. She wanted to join the group. She really did. It was something she felt she could finally do. But, she had always expected to be with friends. Now she was alone.

Rae decided to drop by a cafe she frequently went to. Maybe some tea would help calm her down?

"Ah, Rae! Nice to see you!" A purple-haired girl greeted her from behind the counter.

"Anika? I thought you were off this week?" Rae was a bit confused by her friend's presence.

"Yeah… they needed help today so I came in." Anika mumbled, "Seems like there's another wave of illnesses spreading around."

"Of course…" Rae sighed, "Sucks that a lot of staff got sick."

"Yeah. I'm on break in five minutes. Wanna chat then?" Anika asked.

Rae nodded, "Sure."

"I'm assuming you want your usual?"

"Maybe…" Rae mumbled as she flushed red in embarrassment.

Anika chuckled. Rae handed over the money for the drink. She knew how much it was without even looking. That was how often she came by.

"Well, I'll bring it out and we can talk."

"Okay." Rae nodded.

A few minutes later, Anika came out. She no longer was wearing her apron. She set down the tea onto the table. Rae thanked her.

"So, what's new?" Anika asked.

"Remember the idol group at school? Well, I went to one of their practices today." Rae said.

"Oh. You mentioned wanting to join them before. Is that why?" Anika asked.

Rae nodded, "Yeah. But, I feel awkward with them. They're close friends and then there's me."

"That does sound awkward." Anika agreed.

Rae sipped at her tea. She wondered if Anika would be willing to join her. She felt comfortable around her, so maybe that was enough.

"Hey, Ani, um… would you join the group?"

"Huh? W-why are you asking?" Anika was caught off guard by the question.

"Well, I was suggested that maybe if I had a friend join too it wouldn't feel as awkward." Rae replied.

"O-oh…"

"What?" Rae eyed Anika up.

"Well… I'm not going to join." Anika stated.

"Why not?" Rae asked.

She was more concerned with the change in tone than the opposition. It was a bit concerning to see Anika go silent and then speak in a harsher tone.

"I don't want to talk about it." Anika said firmly.

"But… I'm worried about you. Whatever happened must've been bad if you're acting like this." Rae said.

Anika sighed. She stared down at the table for a while, not saying anything. Rae worried she pushed her luck. What if Anika was mad at her for not backing off?

"I… I had a bad experience in an idol group." Anika whispered, "I can't do it."

"Will you tell me more?" Rae requested.

This was the first time she had ever heard of this. Rae had no idea Anika had any affiliations with an idol group before. That only made her more worried. Anika rarely kept things secret from her.

"My parents thought I should join this group because it would help me be more social. They pressured me into auditioning and I ended up getting in." Anika explained, "A few days in, and it was obvious none of the other members liked me. My parents didn't believe me and refused to let me quit. So… I suffered a lot of bullying during that time. When summer ended and school started, we disbanded so I got out of it."

"I'm sorry… I had no idea…" Rae could only stare in shock. That was not what she had been expecting.

"So, I don't think I can help you." Anika concluded, "It's just too hard."

"I understand." Rae said, "Sorry I asked."

"It's okay… I've never told anyone besides you about it… so, it's not like you would've known." Anika smiled, though there was pain present on her face.

"Well, I guess you have to get back to work soon." Rae sighed.

"Yeah." Anika nodded.

"Welp, I better get going. Text me when you're home." Rae stood up.

"Kay. See ya!"

…

Rae didn't know what to do. Anika was the only friend she felt comfortable talking to about this. None of her other friends shared any interest in idols.

Rae was startled and the doorbell rung. It was almost six. She had no clue who would be at the door at this hour. She went and opened it. Anika was standing outside.

"Hey. Can I come in?" Anika asked.

"Sure." Rae stepped back and allowed Anika to enter.

Rae didn't know what to say. Normally she got a heads-up if Anika was planning to visit. This was out of the ordinary.

"So… why are you here?" Rae asked.

"I thought we could talk." Anika replied.

"Okay. Um… where do you wanna talk at?"

"Let's go to the balcony."

Rae nodded and led Anika up to the balcony. The apartment she lived in had a shared balcony that connected the next door housing. They were the only two on it at the time.

They stared off into the distance for a while, not saying anything. It was a calm night. It was humid, though.

"Hey… Ani?" Rae asked.

"Yeah?" Anika looked her way.

"If you can't be an idol, what about a manager?" Rae questioned, "I'm sure they could use the help."

"A manager…" Anika mumbled as she looked back at the mountains in the distance, "Maybe I could do that…"

"Even if that was all you did, I'd feel better having you with me." Rae said, "I wouldn't be all alone then."

"Well… ask them about it and if they agree then, yeah. I'll do it." Anika declared.

"Alright! So… what do you wanna do?" Rae smiled.

"Hmm…" Anika thought about it, "Have any new movies to watch?"

"I'm sure we can find something." Rae replied.

The two of them went back inside and back to Rae's apartment. Rae informed Anika that her parents would be home around ten. Anika said she'd be leaving by nine. The two of them decided on a movie to watch.

Rae was relieved now. As long as they agreed to having a manager, this would work out.


	11. A Group of Five, or is it Four?

Rae didn’t get the chance to talk to her seniors for three days. There just wasn’t any opportunity to do so. But, today she had the chance to and she was taking it. Rae didn’t want to dance around the bush any longer. She just wanted to see if it was possible for her to feel at home in this group.

“So, Rae… have you decided if you’re gonna join us officially?” Aya asked her during a break from their practice.

Rae fiddled with her hands as she tried to figure out what to say, “Well… I was wondering if a friend of mine could join…”

“Of course, why wouldn’t they be able to?” Aya stated.

“Not as an idol… but, maybe as a manager?” Rae mumbled, “She had a bad experience in an idol group before, but I don’t want to join alone… that was the best I could come up with…”

“A manager?” Aya seemed lost in thought.

“So like, someone who would handle the paperwork and stuff?” Kira questioned.

"I guess… whatever you guys would need." Rae shrugged.

"Is it wise? If she has problems because of a past group, should she really join?" Ryder questioned.

Rae knew that was going to be questioned. It made sense. Anika was still… something because of that group. Rae wasn't sure if it was enough to be called traumatized or the likes. Was it that deep? She had no clue and doubted she would be finding out anytime soon.

"I talked to her about it. She said it would be fine if she was just a manager." Rae stated.

"Well, how about we all meet up tomorrow at a cafe or something and talk?" Aya suggested, "Let's get to know her first."

"Alright." Rae nodded.

After practice ended, she texted Anika with the details they had discussed later on in the practice session. They would meet up at the cafe where Anika worked. Thankfully, Rae knew tomorrow she was off. Anika agreed to meet up and discuss what exactly she would do in the group.

…

The next day came. Rae showed up at Anika’s door ten minutes before they were set to all meet up. They had decided to walk to the cafe together.

The walk was silent. Neither really knew what they should say. The walk was only five minutes anyway. They didn’t have much time to chat.

They arrived to find the other three girls waiting. Aya, being Aya, smiled and immediately greeted Anika. Anika was standing there with a confused expression on her face. She had not been expecting such a friendly welcome.

“Get used to it. That’s how she greets anyone, new or old.” Kira said.

“Aya, can you not interrogate her with questions? At least until we get inside.” Ryder sighed.

“Okay!” Aya didn’t take offense to the request and opened the door.

The five of them entered and took a table. They all ordered something to drink. While waiting, Aya decided to start asking Anika questions again.

"How about we discuss why we're all here." Kira cut off Aya as kindly as she could.

"Right. So, you said you'd join our group if you could be a manager?" Aya immediately changed topic without any pause.

Anika blinked at her for a few seconds, before she nodded, "Yes."

"So… what all would you do then?" Aya asked next.

Anika shrugged, “I don’t know. Whatever you’d need, I guess.”

Despite how much she thought about it, Anika never could decide what she’d be doing. What would a manager for an idol group do? Especially one that was just a group of kids from high school. Anika didn’t know.

“Could you handle filling out forms and stuff? And maybe helping schedule events and the likes?” Aya questioned. Those were the first things to pop into her mind.

Anika nodded, “Sure. That sounds pretty easy.”

“Um… would she be considered a member or…?” Kira asked.

No one had an answer right away. Even Aya was stumped. Would they consider Anika a member of the group or would she be just behind the scenes? Did it make a difference?

“I don’t see any harm in calling her a member.” Ryder shrugged, “I don’t think it’ll really affect us.”

“Alright then. If that’s decided, then welcome to Aquarium Idols.” Aya smiled.

“You know… the name doesn’t really work anymore…” Kira pointed out.

“Yeah. The meaning behind it doesn’t make sense now.” Ryder agreed.

Aya pouted, “So?”

“I think we should consider changing it.” Kira stated.

“Eh? But… why? We can just remove the meaning behind the name.” Aya protested.

“Think of it like a reboot.” Ryder said, “We’re starting anew with more members. Why not change the name?”

“Let me think about it… I don’t really wanna change it…” Aya mumbled.

“It was just a thought.” Kira replied, “We don’t have to change it.”

“So… are you looking for more members for the group still?” Rae questioned.

“I mean, if anyone wants to join, we won’t stop them, but we aren’t actively searching.” Ryder said.

“I see.”

“Welp, shall we get going? It’s starting to get dark.” Kira asked.

Everyone nodded. They said goodbye and parted ways.

“I can’t believe I’m in an idol group again…” Anika whispered.

“You alright with it?” Rae asked.

Anika nodded, “Yeah. They seem really nice.”

“I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if you ended up having to leave.” Rae said, “If it becomes too uncomfortable for you.”

“I hope it doesn’t get to that point.” Anika sighed.

“Me too. We’ll just have to wait and see.”


	12. Do You Want To Join?

Time had flown by. Before they knew it, school was starting up again. Aquarium Idols was still their group name. Aya was on the fence about changing it still. Besides that, the group was doing well. The two new members had been welcomed by the fans. Sure, Anika wasn’t exactly an idol, but her presence was accepted as well.

Having Anika proved to be very helpful. She could handle a lot of the paperwork and the likes. It left more time for the others to actually practice and make songs. Though, making songs took a long time. Having Ryder as their sole composer for music wasn’t the best. Songs took a long time to come out.

Today was another day of practice. Anika was sitting on the sidelines and watching them. Despite her hesitance at first, she was really enjoying being a part of the group. This one had a completely different atmosphere to the old one she was in. Anika assumed it was because it wasn’t as strict. Since they weren’t under a contract, they had more leeway.

The four girls were focused on a new dance. They didn’t notice that so one was watching them from a distance. Anika was the first to see them. From the uniform the girl wore, it was obvious she was a student in the middle school. What year she was, Anika couldn’t tell. There was no difference in uniform depending on year. Only school.

When they stopped, Anika mentioned it to them. Without looking suspicious, they all took turns seeing who it was.

“Anyone know who that is?” Aya questioned.

“I think she’s a new student. I heard they got one. It’s all they talk about now.” Ryder said.

“How come?” Rae asked, “Is there something weird about her?”

“Apparently she’s deaf.” Ryder replied, “So, it’s quite an interesting time for everyone.”

“Is she interested in our group? Or is she just curious as to what we’re doing?” Kira questioned.

“Why don’t we call her over?” Aya suggested.

“Eh? But how are we gonna talk to her?” Anika asked.

“I know a little sign language.” Ryder said, “But just typing out what we want to say on our phones would probably work too.”

“You’re bilingual?” Kira asked.

“Um… multilingual, but I wouldn’t include JSL as a fluent language.” Ryder mumbled.

“That’s so cool!” Aya said.

“Anyway, are we gonna talk to her or not?” Ryder cut off the conversation.

“Yeah!” Aya turned around and waved to the girl.

The girl looked startled. Aya motioned for her to come closer. She didn’t budge for a while. She just stared at them with wide eyes. Eventually, she did approach them. She was very nervous and was fiddling with her hands.

Aya waved and smiled. The girl hesitantly waved back to her. She signed something, but no one knew what she had told them. Well, Ryder knew. She had just signed that she was deaf.

Ryder took it upon herself to try and be the one to converse with her, so she signed back stating that they all knew. She also apologized in advance for not being good at signing. The girl’s eyes lit up when Ryder signed back to her. This was the first time any student had.

They talked for a while. The other girls were watching, trying to guess what they were signing. None of them could really tell. They didn’t realize how different sign language actually looked.

“So, her name is Hina. She’s in the final year of middle school.” Ryder told the others, “She likes our group.”

“She should join us then!” Aya declared.

“Ay… she can’t talk. How is she gonna be able to do anything?” Kira sighed.

“She could dance, couldn’t she? If she wanted to, we could easily make it work.” Aya defended.

“I’ll ask her then.” Ryder said and then did so.

Hina didn’t reply for a while. It was obvious she was thinking about the offer. After a few minutes, she signed something.

“She said she’d like to try.”

“Awesome!” Aya smiled and started jumping up and down.

Hina looked startled. Ryder sighed and apologized. She explained that was how Aya always acted. Hina giggled at that statement.

“So, we have another member now.” Rae commented.

“Looks like it. Seems more students are interested, huh?” Anika replied.

“I really do think we should consider changing our name.” Kira said.

“Well, if anyone has a suggestion, tell me. I just… can’t think of a name that just fits.” Aya said.

“You are expected to learn sign language now.” Ryder stated.

“How are we gonna do that?” Rae questioned.

Ryder asked Hina that. Hina explained that it was easiest to find a group and join in the meetings. She also would be willing to teach them a little bit.


	13. Starlight

A few days had gone by. No one had come up with a name for the group yet. They all agreed Aya had been right. Finding a new name that worked was hard. All the names they tried just didn’t sound right. It was frustrating. They really wanted to change their name.

It was just after school. Aya had called a meeting at their practice location. Unfortunately, Anika had work and was not able to attend. She apologized and then left to go head home and change. The other girls were all able to remain.

“What’s up, Ay?” Kira asked after everyone had arrived.

“I think I found a name for us.” Aya stated.

At the moment, Hina was relying on speech-to-text to understand the conversation. It wasn’t the best, but for now it would have to work. Ryder could only do so much to help with her limited knowledge on the language.

“What’s the name then?” Ryder asked.

"Starlight."

"Any particular reason you chose that name?" Kira questioned.

In all honesty, everyone kind of was suspecting that there wasn't a meaning behind it. It wouldn't be unlike Aya to do that. Just pick a catchy name that hasn't been used yet and run with it. That sounded like something Aya would definitely do.

"Well… I think it sounds really cool. And, it's kinda representative of us as a group. One star alone can't shine bright enough to light much, but a bunch of stars can." Aya said with a smile.

"That's… a really cool way to think of it."

Aya smiled, "Yay! So, that means we'll change our name to that?"

Everyone looked at each other. Ryder checked to make sure Hina was following along. Once everyone was on the same page, they seemed to be in agreement. The name sounded good. And its meaning definitely fit the group more now.

"How do you plan to announce it to everyone?" Rae questioned.

Aya shrugged, "I… I haven't gotten that far yet…"

"Well, why don't we just change the Profile name and post a quick update on it? I don't think we need to be very extravagant about it." Kira suggested.

Hina held up her phone, 'Why not take a group photo and put the new name on it? Like a banner?'

"Ooh! Let's do that!" Aya nodded excitedly.

"It'll have to be later." Ryder reminded her, "Anika is working."

"Right…" Aya sighed, "So… what should we do for now?"

“How about working on the outfit designs for our next song?”

…

That evening, they all gathered at the park. Anika was filled in on what all had happened while she was at work. They decided to take the group photo at the park. Rae had a camera stand, so they used that to take a timed photo instead of bothering a stranger to do it.

It took a bit before they decided on the pose they wanted. It was simply the three tallest girls were in the back and the shorter ones were in the front. They took a few different angles to decide which one they liked the most.

“Let’s find a picnic table and look at the photos!” Aya said once they had finally finished.

They found one that was out of the way and sat down. Rae sorted through the photos and let everyone see them. It was hard to find the best one. Most of them looked good.

“I think the front facing one would be the best.” Rae commented, “It shows everyone clearly and leaves the best area to put our logo on.”

“We can do that then.” Aya agreed.

“I’ll do it tonight and by tomorrow I’ll have it posted then.” Rae stated.

They hung out for a little while longer, before everyone soon retreated back home as the sun went down. Rae pulled up the picture onto her laptop and started editing it. It took a while before she was satisfied with the result.

Rae posted the picture to their idol group’s page and simply captioned it ‘Name change! Aquarium Idols is now called Starlight. With the addition of new members, it was decided a rebranding was needed. Hope you like our new name.’

Rae sent off texts to the others to inform them that she had finished. She went to eat dinner and then checked the comments on the post. It seemed most people were excited to see the name change. A few comments were against it, as expected. Though, the most concerning comments were those who seemed to dislike Hina being in the group.

They had gotten some messages like that before when Hina was first introduced. They all collectively decided that they would delete all of those comments as the entire point of their group was to show that anyone could do this. They were all about being inclusive, after all.

Rae’s phone pinged from a message. The group chat had new messages from Aya.

Aya: What do you guys think about trying to recruit other groups? Like, separate idol groups or whatever to be in the project?

Kira: Would this be exclusive to our school still?

Anika: It’s probably for the best so it’s easier to communicate with everyone

Ryder: I don’t know that I’ve heard much of anyone starting or wanting to start groups that you’re looking for

Rae: Maybe ask around?

Hina: I thought there was group of students making a band in the high school? That’s what I was hearing at least

Aya: Oh, Yeah! I heard rumors some friends were trying to do that but the school wasn’t too sure about it

Kira: Was there a reason why?

Rae: Weren’t they more heavy? Like both musically and lyrically?

Ryder: I believe they were. But, we also do make heavier songs as is. We could be their ticket to being able to form

Aya: We should ask them then!

Kira: Speaking of bands, maybe we should do that. Just to make making our songs easier

Aya: Interesting idea. Let’s discuss tomorrow at practice


	14. Making a Band

The next day, when practice was over, everyone stayed back to talk. Normally they would head home right away as it was late. Today was the exception. They needed to discuss the conversation from last night.

"So… you think we should make a band inside of our group?" Aya asked.

"Well, it would probably help with creating songs faster." Kira shrugged.

"But, who could even do that?"

"I can play a lot of instruments so… doesn't matter to me which one I do." Ryder said.

"Ryder taught me how to play the bass. I'm not that good at it yet, but I could do it." Kira offered with a smile.

"I've been playing the drums since I was a kid." Rae said, "I could do that if you needed."

"I can play the piano!" Anika stated.

"Guess I can do guitar then." Ryder mumbled.

Hina held out her phone, 'I know it's probably weird, but I know how to play guitar.'

Everyone was shocked. The fact that Hina, someone who couldn't hear anything, learned to play the guitar. That was impressive.

"I don't see why you both couldn't work together on it." Aya said.

"So, we've created a band as well."

"Looks like it."

“This should be interesting.”

…

It was definitely an interesting time. Ryder was used to renting out a studio to record the songs, but now there were five of them using it. It was a lot more cramped. Navigating around everyone and letting everyone have enough time to rehearse was definitely a struggle at first.

Surprisingly, it was pretty easy to get used to. It wasn't long before they fell into a comfortable rhythm. Hell, they even decided to release a video of them recording one of their songs just for the fun of it.

With that now going on, it was a lot easier to create songs and release them a lot faster. Starlight was starting to slowly climb in the rankings. Not that they really paid much attention to it. They didn’t care about their popularity or fame. They just cared about making people happy.

The reactions about them making the band were mixed. Some people were all for it, and some not so much. They thought it was a bad idea. They were an idol group, not a band. But, why couldn’t they be both?

Along with making the band, a little bit of a change came with it. Rae decided she wanted to dye some of her hair. Well, she never really did. She bleached her tips and decided that was good enough for her. It looked really cool.

Now that they were known as also being a band, the group they had previously talked about came back into things. One of those kids had reached out to them and asked if they could possibly help get the school to allow their own band to be a thing. Aya was, of course, eager to meet and talk with them.

They learned that the group actually was already a band. Had been since they started middle school. They just needed a boost to get themselves out there. It seemed the school just wasn't too sure about it. Aya, however, was sure about it. She wanted them to join.

So, a new group would soon be joining their project if things went to plan. Though, no one quite expected it. Everyone had started to assume it would just be them as the sole ones in this project. But, things were starting to change.


	15. Demons of Despair

Two days had passed. Today was the day they were meeting with the new group. It was after school now. The six members of Starlight were waiting in an empty classroom for the new group to show up. Aya was impatient. She was so ready to get to meet them.

“Where are they?” Aya whined.

“It’s been only ten minutes since school let out. They’re also still in middle school, you know. They might be a while yet.” Kira said.

“I wish they would hurry up…” Aya pouted.

“Be patient. They’ll come here soon enough.”

…

It was another five minutes before they arrived. Five students entered the room. Aya was happy to greet them all.

“So, you’re the kids that want to get some exposure from the school?” Ryder asked.

“Yes, we want to grow and we think it could give us the help we need.” A blonde-haired girl said.

“Shall we sit and discuss?” Kira asked.

The 11 of them sat down at the desks. They turned them into a giant circle. This was going to be an interesting meeting.

“First off, what are your names? Oh! And what instruments do you play?” Aya asked.

“I’m Marissa. Um… I’m the singer.” The blonde girl said.

“I’m Maria. I play the keyboard.” A red-haired girl said.

A blond-haired boy spoke next, “I’m Jake. I play the guitar.”

“I’m Jack… I’m the drummer…” A black-haired boy said.

“And I’m Ling. I play the bass.” A grey-haired girl said.

“It’s nice to meet you all!” Aya smiled.

“So, you’ve all been a band since the start of middle school?” Rae questioned.

Maria nodded, “Yeah. Um… Ling only joined us recently. We had another member, but she isn’t with us anymore.”

“I’m taking it none of you are Japanese?” Kira asked.

“That would be correct. We’re all foreigners.” Jake replied, “I’m from Germany. Maria is from Spain, Jack is from Russia, Marissa is from England, and Ling is from China. Our um… old member was from Brazil.”

“Hey, Ry? You from any of those places?” Aya asked.

Ryder didn’t tend to mention the fact she was indeed a foreign student as well. Most people didn’t ever realize she wasn’t Japanese.

“I’m German, but… I grew up in Russia.” Ryder eventually said.

“You seem kinda familiar, if I’m honest.” Jack said.

Ryder’s eyes flashed with momentary panic, but it quickly was hidden, “I don’t know where, I doubt we would have met at school.”

“Well, if I remember, I’ll let you know.”

“I’ll do the same.”

“Anyway, anything you want to ask about joining our project?” Anika tried to get them back on topic.

“U-um… I have a question…” Jack mumbled as he stared at the desk, “I… I’m trans…”

“Kai, you aren’t the only one now!” Aya smiled.

Kira blushed in embarrassment, “I suppose I’m not…”

Jack’s eyes widened, “You…”

Kira took a deep breath and nodded, “I’m a trans girl.”

“So we have opposites.” Rae commented.

“See, Jack, I told you there was nothing to worry about.” Jake said.

“Yeah…”

“Is that all?” Aya asked.

“I don’t think we have much else to ask.” Marissa said.

“I don’t see a reason why you guys can’t be a part of this project.” Aya said, “So, welcome to the team!”

“Oh, one thing.” Ryder said, “As you may know, Hina here is deaf. It would be appreciated if you try and learn sign language as you’ll be hanging around her a lot.”

“Fair enough.” They all agreed.

“So, what’s your band’s name?”

“Demons of Despair.”


	16. The Last Member

“Man… these practices are really draining…”

“This is a really tough dance.”

“Why did we make it so hard?!”

“Because. This is for the open house event. We need to set a good example for the students considering applying next year.”

It was another day of practice for Starlight. They had been asked to perform a song at the open house coming in the next few weeks. They were working hard to make it as good as they could. The school expected good results from them. Not many clubs were ever chosen to do much for the open house.

Because of that, the pressure was on. They really wanted to show the school they were serious. Especially now that Demons of Despair was in their club. The school wasn’t too sure about that decision, so they really needed to do something to show them it would be fine.

But, they couldn’t do that right now. Not with the open house looming just around the corner. They would discuss that after. For now, that group of five was allowed to do as they pleased. Not like much would change even after they talked.

“Well, are we done for today?” Rae asked.

“I think we should call it a day. The sun will be setting soon.” Kira said.

“Good work today, everyone!”

They all started packing their bags up. As they were preparing to leave, they spotted someone in the distance. It appeared to be another middle school student. They were hiding out and watching them.

“What do you think she wants?” Aya asked.

Hina seemed to know, ‘She’s Hikari. She’s in my class. She has talked a lot about really admiring all of us.’

‘Does that mean she wants to join?’ Ryder questioned.

Hina shrugged, ‘Maybe?’

The sign language learning was going pretty slow. Only Ryder was able to really communicate with Hina. So, she had to translate everything to the others.

Everyone knew what was going to happen once Ryder said everything. Aya would definitely be open to having another person join the group. So, looks like that was going to be next.

As they predicted, Aya wanted to ask her. She walked over to the girl. Everyone else stayed back and watched.

“Maybe Aya shouldn’t be the recruiter… she’s scared the poor girl to death already.” Kira sighed.

“That’s what Aya seems to do best.” Ryder replied.

“She’s so hyper that it’s intimidating…” Anika said, “Never thought that was possible to do.”

That caused everyone to laugh. It was very true that Aya could come off as quite scary given how hyper she could become. Whilst they had all become pretty much used to it, the other students in the school were not at all. It was an adventure seeing what trouble Aya would get herself into on a daily basis. She never seemed to be able to cool down.

Everyone was waiting to see how things went. It was hard to tell from a distance. They had to wait for Aya to return to them.

It happened soon enough. However, Hikari was dragged along with her. She seemed to be in shock from all of this.

"Everyone, this is Hikari. She's gonna join us as an idol!" Aya declared.

"You can let go of her now, Ay." Kira softly nudged her.

Aya released Hikari from her death grip on her arm. Hikari seemed relieved to not be held anymore.

"So, you want to join us?" Kira asked her.

Hikari shyly nodded, "I… I wanna try…"

"Well, welcome to the group."

Everyone welcomed her warmly. She was now a member as well. The last member for their group.

"We are currently working on a song for the open house. Until that's over, you can just watch us." Ryder said.

"Okay."


	17. Preparing For The Live

The open house was slowly getting closer. As of now, they had one thing left to do. Get clothes for it. So, that was how Ryder, Aya, and Kira found themselves at the mall.

Ryder had been learning how to sew as of recent. But, she couldn’t make it from hand. Especially on such a short notice. So, they were looking for bland outfits that could easily be modified to add more to them.

“So… what type of clothing are we looking for?” Aya asked.

“Well, I’d say anything. It really depends on what we find for what we’ll make.” Ryder replied.

"Could we try and do something that isn't a dress?" Kira asked, "It just feels like that's all idols ever wear and I don't like it."

"I do find it strange that it's just common for idols to wear dresses all the time too."

"So, are we talking doing skirts or pants?" Ryder questioned.

"Half and half?" Aya suggested.

"I suppose that could work." Ryder agreed.

"Now… color scheme is the next question." Kira mumbled.

"Well, let's definitely not do bright colors light our first live. Our music is more heavy and dark. Let's do diluted colors." Aya offered.

"Yeah. If we want to match our music darker colors definitely seem a better choice."

"How about we split up? We just need to find plain clothes right? We can each take an article and find it." Kira said.

"Sure. After we get them together we can decide if we need legging or tights and then what type of shoes we want." Ryder nodded.

"Can I find the pants?" Aya asked, "That seems easiest to do."

"Look for black jeans or dark blue. Maybe dark red." Ryder said, "If there's holes in them, get those. It'll suit our style. There's seven of us… so how about four pairs."

Despite Hikari and Anika obviously not being involved in the dancing, they were still getting outfits. They wanted to do a photoshoot before the performance for the school newspaper. All members were to be included in it.

"Okay!" Aya nodded and then left them to start her search.

"Which one is easier to find?" Kira questioned.

"I'd say shirts. Skirts can be tricky because of the different materials used." Ryder replied.

"So, seven dark colored shirts…"

"If you find some jean jackets add those too. I think we could add those."

"Okay. Anything else?" Kira asked.

Ryder thought about it, "I'd say if you find any thin shirts that are dark, get those with something for an undershirt. We could rip them a bit and make a style like that."

"You know a lot for just starting to pick up sewing." Kira commented.

"I've been into punk fashion for ages. I just always thrifted stuff instead of making them myself." Ryder replied.

"Oh. Well, good luck finding the skirts." Kira said.

"Good luck to you as well. Let's hope Aya can manage this as well." Ryder sighed.

Kira chuckled, "I'm sure she'll find stuff that's close enough."

"I can only hope. She was hell last time."

"Well, it is Aya we're talking about, after all."

"That is true. Welp, we better get looking." Ryder said.

"Okay!"

They split up to go to the right departments.

…

It actually went quite well. They found clothes that they could work with to make the outfits. They were cutting it close for making them, though.

Kira offered to try and help make the outfits to speed things up. But, they didn't get much done any faster. This was their first time doing it this way. They weren’t sure which ways were the most effective. The way they were doing things were not.

But, they managed to finish the outfits a day before, though not without pulling many late nighters. Luckily they all fit everyone well-nigh that no modifications had to be made. Now, they just had to wait and hope their performance went well.


	18. Open House

Today was the day. All seven of them were gathered backstage. Right now they were getting ready for a photoshoot. The school wanted to put them in their newspaper, so they wanted pictures of them before the concert too.

Everyone was more than happy to pose for them. Even if Anika was not performing, she still had an outfit as well so she wasn't left out. She got to participate in a lot of stuff managers normally wouldn't.

"Alright. Thank you." The student taking their pictures finished up and then left.

"So, how long until the show?" Aya asked excitedly.

"About an hour." Kira replied.

"So, everyone ready for this?" Aya asked.

"This is our first time going solo… it's a little intimidating." Rae said.

"It is a bit nerve-wracking to think about." Anika agreed, "And I'm not even doing it."

"You still got a song you released." Aya said.

All seven of them got a solo song. Even Anika and Hina. Hikari's wasn't quite done yet. They needed to tweak a few things still. The outfit was done, though. Her and Anika were going to be hanging out while the others performed. And yes, that included Hina.

She was given the option to release a song in sign language if she wanted to. Hina had, so they worked on what they would do. Hina just had to have the timing down for her song to know when to sign.

The school had a screen they were allowed to use to display the lyrics as it happened. It was a bit of a hurdle, but they managed it. Hina was thrilled to get to sing as well.

Everyone now just had to wait until the time came for them to start. They were the only ones performing today. Normally another group would be with them. But, the school decided to change things around a bit.

"Hey, guys!"

Demons of Despair entered the backstage area. They had been invited to watch Starlight perform. All of them were excited for two reasons. One, this was the first time seeing them live, and two, after this they would discuss getting them as an official group in the school

"Hey. How's it going?" Aya greeted them.

"It's going alright. It's been busy." Marissa replied.

"I bet. They always shove a lot of extra stuff at us before open house." Ryder sighed.

"They really want us to look good to potential students." Maria said.

"Yeah. It's exhausting sometimes."

"Why did you guys decide to come to this school? It seems like a long journey to go on." Kira asked the band.

"Well, it was mainly to get away from our lives and get more freedom." Jake answered for them all.

"I see. Ry? You're not from Japan either. What made you come here?" Kira asked.

"I needed to leave." Ryder simply said.

It was hard to get much out of her about her past. Everyone else was open to sharing theirs except for her. No one could understand why, but they wouldn't ever push her to answer.

"Alright. Well, what shall we do while we wait?"

"I brought cards if we wanna play that." Aya offered.

"I don't think we all can play at once, though." Anika said.

"I brought two decks!"

"That's not enough, Aya…" Kira sighed.

"It's not?"

"No… we have 11. I don't think we can do that with two decks. Maybe 8 at the most." Rae offered.

"Aw…"

…

An hour later, they were ready to perform. There were a lot of people in the auditorium. It was even more packed than the last time they had done this.

Aya went first. She wasn't really nervous about it. She was excited to show the audience what she had come up with.

Kira was up next. Despite how much she had complained about dresses, she still decided to wear one.

Ryder went next. Then Rae. And finally, Hina. They decided to close the performance with Hina just because. It was an interesting experience for everyone, but it seemed to go well.

They all gathered backstage. Everyone congratulated the others on their performance. It had gone well. They were really glad.

Now they had to deal with Demons of Despair. They had to deal with the principal and convincing them to let the group be a club.


	19. More Club Members

“Alright! I’m going to talk to the student council and see about adding new club members!”

“Shouldn’t you start with the principal?”

“Why do we need to tell her? I don’t think we do. They’ll just be in our club. If they need anything the club money we have should be enough.”

“I think for once Aya may have a point here.”

“So, can I go?”

“Only if someone goes with you.”

Aya pouted, “Why?”

“Because you can’t be trusted alone.” Kira replied, “You constantly are getting up to trouble.”

“Then you come with me.” Aya latched on to Kira’s arm.

Kira rolled her eyes at Aya’s antics, “Fine. I’ll join you.”

“Good luck. I’ll wait here for the others to arrive.” Ryder said.

“Let’s go, Kai!” Aya practically dragged Kira out of the room.

Ryder rolled her eyes and sat down. Rae and Anika should join them soon. They still had half-an-hour before the rest of them would arrive. It was a little annoying having to deal with members being in middle school. But, they could still work around it.

“Where’re the other two?” Rae entered the room with Anika not far behind.

“Going to get a paper so we can add the other five to our club.” Ryder replied.

“Seems a bit early…” Anika said, “But if Aya’s doing it it probably is best to start now.”

“Kira went with her?”

“You think letting Aya do this alone would be a wise decision?” Ryder questioned.

“Fair enough.” Rae nodded.

“So, what’s going on today besides that?” Anika asked.

Ryder shrugged, “Not anything that I know of.”

“Do we have any performances coming up?”

“There was a letter we received. Haven’t gotten to read it yet, though.” Ryder said, “We can look at it once everyone is here.”

And so the wait began.

…

“Hello!” Aya and Kira made it to the student council room.

“Yes?” The student council president asked.

“Can we have a form to add more members to our club?” Kira asked.

“How many members?”

“Five.”

“Let me see if I can find them.” The president searched through some drawers.

“Um… they’re in middle school. Is there anything different we’d need to do?” Kira asked.

She couldn’t remember what Hina and Hikari had needed to do to join the club. It was not very usual to mix like this. Most clubs had two different groups. One being high school and one being middle school.

“Are they seniors?”

“Yes, they all are.” Kira nodded.

“Very well. Just tell them to have the middle school student council sign it as well and they may join.” The president handed them five papers.

“Thank you!” Aya smiled.

“Yes, thanks.”

With that, they left the room.

“That was easier than I thought.” Kira said, “You stayed quiet.”

“I can be quiet if I want to be.” Aya shot back teasingly.

“If that’s the case, could you keep a secret?”

“A secret? I’ve kept a lot of secrets.” Aya stated.

“You can’t tell anyone. Can you do that?”

“Of course!” Aya promised with a smile.

“Then I’ll tell you after the club is over.”

“Okay!”

…

By the time they arrived back, everyone else was in the room now too. Thankfully they had been given quite a big room. Otherwise this might have been a bit of a struggle to fit them all.

“Alright. Here’s the forms!” Aya grabbed the papers from Kira and handed them to the five students.

“You need the middle school student council to sign the paper as well as ours. So do that tomorrow and bring them back.” Kira said.

“Okay!” The five of them replied.

“Did it go well?” Ryder questioned, eyeing Aya with uncertainty.

Kira nodded, “Yes. We had no issues.”

“So, it seems kind of weird that they’re in an idol club.” Hikari commented.

“True. But, it’s not like we can change our name.” Ryder shrugged.

“It’s not that bad. Besides, it’s not like we’re the same group.” Maria said, “It shouldn’t cause any confusion, hopefully.”

“Hopefully indeed.”

“Is that all we’re doing today?” Jake asked.

“I believe Aya wanted to explain the goal of this club.” Kira said.

“Yeah! You should know what we’re doing!” Aya nodded.

Hina tapped Hikari on the shoulder and held out her phone to her, ‘Someone seems hyper.’

Hikari nodded and typed back, ‘I feel like I’m actually getting used to it by now.’

‘I am too.’


	20. Crush

“I’m here~”

After the club meeting, everyone went to their houses. Aya had something she needed to do at home before her and Kira could discuss whatever it was she wanted to talk about. That task had taken a little over an hour to do, but Aya was finally done.

Kira’s parents had let her in. Aya proceeded to go to Kira’s room. Kira was doing some school work currently. She paused and set it aside once Aya entered her room. Aya sat down beside her on the bed.

“So, whatcha wanna talk about?” Aya asked.

Kira nervously riddled with her hands, “Um… I… I… think I have a crush on someone…”

“Eh? Who?”

“R-Ryder…”

“You like Ryder?” Aya repeated.

Kira nodded, “Yes… but I don’t want to tell her…”

“Why not?” Aya frowned.

“What if she doesn’t like me back?” Kira worried, “I don’t want to cause problems with our group.”

“I’m sure she’ll like you back.” Aya said.

“How can you be so sure? She could not like girls for all we know.” Kira challenged.

Aya started laughing, “You think she isn’t gay? Have you not seen how she is?”

“Huh?”

“First off, lace code. Her laces she wears mean either she’s lgbtq or she supports them. Considering the amount of Pride patches on that punk jacket she wears all the time, I’m thinking it’s the former.” Aya explained, a little concerned Kira didn’t pick up on that yet.

“I… just thought it meant she was a big ally.”

“You are so blind…” Aya sighed, “She’s gay, trust me.”

“But how would I even tell her?”

“Just ask her to meet you somewhere and tell her.”

“That’s too much pressure!” Kira protested.

“Then… write a letter saying it?” Aya offered as a replacement.

“I… guess that could work…” Kira agreed.

“Can I help you with it? Or would that be invading your privacy too much?” Aya questioned.

“You could make the envelope for it…” Kira offered, “Just, don’t make it too crazy, please.”

“Okay! One extra awesome envelope coming up!”

…

The next day, Kira had asked the others to wait coming to the club room for a bit. She needed time alone with Ryder to do this. That was the easiest way to get it.

“Hey.” Kira entered the room, Ryder already there.

“Aya isn’t with you?” Ryder was surprised by that.

“Torturing Rae and Anika with hanging up posters currently.” Kira replied.

Ryder sighed and rolled her eyes, “Leave it to her.”

“She gets it done. Just not in the calmest way possible.” Kira shrugged.

“So, why aren’t you helping them?”

“I wanted to talk to you.”

“About what?”

Kira had the letter hidden behind her back. She held it out and looked away. Ryder stared at her for a while, before taking the letter and opening it. Kira was tense. She was scared of what the outcome could be.

“Seems quite extra for a confession.”

“I… I couldn’t… say it…”

Ryder hugged her, “I love you too.”

Kira hugged her back tightly. She started crying in relief. She had been really scared of being rejected for nothing.

“I… love you.” Kira choked out through the tears.

“Alright, deep breaths. We don’t need all the waterworks.”

“I love you.” Kira repeated, this time with no break.

“Yay! You did it!”

“Aya!”

“Aya-chan!”

Aya burst into the room with a smile on her face. Rae and Anika followed with worried looks on their faces.

“Aya…” Kira laughed softly, “That’s one way to make an entrance.”

“So you guys are girlfriends now?” Aya questioned eagerly.

“Yes, we are.” Ryder nodded.

“Awesome!”


	21. Confrontation

A few days had passed since Ryder and Kira started dating. The news was met with congratulations, as well as another couple coming out of the dark. Jack and Jake admitted they were dating and had been for a year.

It was just another day of school. It was early morning. Students were starting to head to their classrooms. There were whispers all around the courtyard.

“What’s everyone talking about?” Aya asked.

“I heard there’s a new student. I think she moved from England.” Anika said.

“Ooh, we get another foreign student. That’s always exciting news.” Aya smiled, “I hope we get to meet her.”

“So, She’s English?” Kira questioned.

“I heard rumors she’s not.” Rae said, “I think she just lived in England.”

“Wonder where she’s from then.”

“Do we have a year?” Ryder asked.

“I think she’s a second year, which is why there’s a lot of discussion.” Anika replied, “Most foreigners join in middle school or first year. Not normal to have someone join later on.”

“I see.”

The five of them continued on their way to the school. They were stopped as a rush of students entered the building. They had to wait until they were gone. Not that it mattered. They had plenty of time before class started.

“Ryder?”

An unfamiliar voice called out. Ryder recognized it. She turned around slowly, not believing this could be true. But, it was. She knew exactly who the new student was.

“Marta. I didn’t take you as someone to come to a school like this.” Ryder said flatly.

“You know each other?” Aya asked.

“We grew up together. It’s good to see you again, Ryder. I’ve missed you a lot.” Marta smiled.

One would expect Ryder to reciprocate the gesture, but her expression became a scowl. She was not happy.

“Quit the bullshit. I doubt any of that.” Ryder growled.

“What do you mean? Why would I lie about that?”

The other four girls stood back slightly, watching with uncertainty. They didn’t expect the conversation to become this. They thought it would be a happy reunion.

“You abandoned me! You expect me to just let you back in after that? I hate you! I never wanted to see you again!” Ryder got physical and swung at her.

“Ryder!” Kira grabbed her and pulled her back, “The hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Leave me alone.” Ryder shoved her away and stormed off into the school.

“Ryder! Come back!” Kira ran after her.

Aya hesitated for a moment, before following after them. Rae and Anika exchanged glances at each other and then at Marta. They weren’t sure what to do.

“Um… do you know why she hates you?” Anika asked.

“I… have an idea…” Marta sighed, “It’s complicated and… it’s personal. I don’t think I should tell you.”

“Oh… okay. Um… sorry?”

“I should’ve been more prepared for this… It’s my fault.”

The warning bell rang out. They had to go and get to class soon. Rae and Anika weren’t sure what to do.

“Um… what class are you in?”

“I don’t know. I have to go get my schedule still.” Marta shrugged.

“Do you know where the office is?”

“Yes. I’ll be fine.”

…

“Ryder! Come on, stop.”

Ryder didn’t stop running until she was in the club room. She collapsed down onto the floor and hugged her knees tightly to her chest. Tears were streaming down her face.

“Ry…” Kira sat beside her, “What happened?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Ryder mumbled. She never liked discussing her past.

“You’ve never gotten aggressive like that before. It’s obvious whatever this is is a really big deal.”

“I said I don’t want to talk about it.”

“She seems like a nice girl. I can’t imagine what she could have done to get that out of you.” Aya entered the room.

“She betrayed me…”

“What did she do?”

“She left me… she left me without saying anything. She just cut me off…”

“She seemed genuine with how she spoke to you. Are you sure she didn’t accidentally do that?”

“I doubt it.”

“I think you guys need to sit down and talk.” Aya stated, “You have to come to an agreement. This can’t stay this way.”

“I don’t want to see her again.”

“Ry, please? You have no choice. She’s a student here now.”

“One time.”

“Okay! At lunch you guys are talking then.”

The warning bell rang.

"Let's go."

Ryder made no move to leave. Aya crossed her arms, before walking over to her and dragging her out the door. Kira followed behind with a worried expression.


End file.
